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INVESTIGATING CRUCIAL INTERDISCIPLINARY LINKAGES IN AGEING SOCIETIES

Abstract:

Population ageing will alter the context in which economic, social and health status evolves in all developed countries radically. Its impact on Greece is expected to be particularly significant and rapid. Population ageing and the consequent shifts will dominate long-term trends in the macro economy and will constitute a major challenge for the organization of the health system as well as for the quality of life of the population of all ages. In this context, a modern scientific approach would reject simplistic views based on simple projections to the future of current situation and relationships. Such projections carry the basic assumption that attitudes and relationships that we have seen up to the present today will continue to apply, more or less unchanged, into the future.

The current proposal develops an interdisciplinary network of researchers to examine crucial interdisciplinary issues in ageing societies. Research will focus on investigating the data of the first three waves of the cross-national interdisciplinary panel survey for people aged 50+ in Europe (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe). The core of this research team builds on an existing network of researchers active in the Greek Country Team responsible for collection of data and preparation for use of SHARE database. The examination of ageing processes therefore will feed into the international scientific literature of ageing, a fact which will allow for direct comparisons with equivalent databases in USA and England.

The main objectives of this proposal are:

the promotion of the study of ageing as an interdisciplinary subject with the establishment of a cohesive research group,

the use of existing European research data infrastructure,

enhanced participation in international research activities,

the study of advanced statistical methods in complex panel samples, and

the contribution of applied research to policy at the Greek and the European level.